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Poke The Box

The latest book, Poke The Box is a call to action about the initiative you're taking - in your job or in your life, and Seth once again breaks the traditional publishing model by releasing it through The Domino Project.

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THE DIP BLOG by Seth Godin

All Marketers Are Liars Blog

On Mediocrity

Why settle?

It's not expensive to make a world-class roll. There are only a few ingredients, the recipe is straightforward (but not easy) and the ingredients don't cost a penny extra.

Mediocre rolls are easier and more predictable. Once you figure out how to make a mediocre, tasteless, soggy roll, you can do it over and over again. Mediocre rolls can be baked by anyone, with very little care. And no one would ever go out of their way to purchase or consume a mediocre roll.

So why do we settle? Why bother being in the food business if you're going to serve something you can't possibly be proud of? Is making that extra dollar so important that all pride goes out the window?

Part of the curse of Wall Street is that enough is never enough. So short-term thinking sets in. Too many companies believe their owners (the stockholders) would rather have them make shlock and alienate customers to turn a little extra profit--even though it's clear that this strategy virtually always leads to doom.

The real story here, though, has nothing to do with the stock market. It has to do with our willingness to settle for work product that just isn't that good--at the same time we vote with our dollars to buy things and experiences that are exceptional.

TrackBack

» Couldn't have said it better [Seth Godin] .... from Dave Davis | What's the Pointe?
This is a GREAT thought from Seth Godin, the author of All Marketers Are Liars. Why settle? It's not expensive to make a world-class roll. There are only a few ingredients, the recipe is straightforward (but not easy) and the [Read More]

» Dancing Leaders, Money from tony morgan | one of the simply strategic guys
My boss/friend, Tim, was out of the office this week. When he's gone, that usually means a green light for a get-stuff-done week. My schedule was pretty blocked off to just plow through as many tasks as I could complete. [Read More]

» In slight praise of mediocrity from Steven's weblog
Seth's Blog: On Mediocrity
While I agree with the spirit of this post, and specifically with:
Part of the curse of Wall Street is that enough is never enough. So short-term thinking sets in.
I also have to put in a word for mediocrity (maybe jus... [Read More]

Tracked on October 22, 2005 at 11:49 PM

» On rolls from Food Basics
Seth Godin was talking about rolls in the context of mediocrity: Mediocre rolls are easier and more predictable. Once you figure out how to make a mediocre, tasteless, soggy roll, you can do it over and over again. What so many mass-producers of baked ... [Read More]

Tracked on October 23, 2005 at 05:53 AM

» Do we need Fanatical Support? from Influential Interactive Marketing
I came across a print ad in Wired Magazine the other day for Rackspace, a provider of managed hosting solutions, and the entire ad was devoted to their tagline Fanatical Support is the difference. Intrigued at a campaign which seemed [Read More]

Tracked on October 27, 2005 at 02:22 PM

» Do we need Fanatical Support? from Influential Interactive Marketing
I came across a print ad in Wired Magazine the other day for Rackspace, a provider of managed hosting solutions, and the entire ad was devoted to their tagline Fanatical Support is the difference. Intrigued at a campaign which seemed [Read More]

» Little Brother Is Watching from XYZephyr
Lecture-circuit fare has finally gotten the best of Seth Godin and we can feel the bile rising in our own throats as he eschews yet another soggy bun. But mediocrity isn't just the bane of minimum-wage catering concerns, it is [Read More]

Tracked on October 28, 2005 at 09:44 PM

» testing with trackbacks from New testing weblog
Lecture-circuit fare has finally gotten the best of Seth Godin and we can feel the bile rising in our own throats as he eschews yet another soggy bun. But mediocrity isn't just the bane of minimum-wage catering concerns, it is [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2005 at 04:15 PM

» The missing ingredient...pride. from Winning at the game we call "Restaurant"...
Seth Godin posted about how some restaurateurs have no pride in their product. They settle for mediocrity on what they serve. I can not agree more. First it starts with the rolls, chip/salsa, bar nuts,... Next it is some of [Read More]

Tracked on March 17, 2006 at 10:48 AM

» Are you Going Beyond Tabasco? from Influential Interactive Marketing
I like my food spicy. The problem is, for most restaurants - it just doesn't pay to make food really spicy. If it is, a large number of customers will send it back, and once you've added the spices, you [Read More]